Slice up some healthy bread

Diners are picky too. For Akshay Damle, 45, a cybersecurity professional in Pune, sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food.

- NIKHIL VAIDYA

But it all starts with the bread. “A good sourdough, ciabatta or a buttery croissant seals the deal for me,” he says.

Travel has led him to some delicious discoveries—a calamari bocadillo in Madrid made with baguette-style bread and the classic Philly cheesesteak known for its soft and chewy hoagie rolls. “These experiences showed me how sandwiches can capture the essence of a place through its local breads,” he adds. Damle is part of a generation that grew up on chutney sandwiches, but is now on the lookout for sandos crafted with care, and elevated to a slow, chef-driven experience.